Against those walls are shelving units and tables that display items for sale, from retro candy — such as wax lips and licorice pipes — to multi-colored woven clothing.

In a tank near the front, several hermit crabs for sale go about their business inside hand-painted shells. Near the back, small four-seat tables line the wall a ways from a decent-sized stage that on any given night might feature a concert, a talent show or a drag performance.

Those responsible for this hodge-podge of odds and ends can be found up near the decades-old — and still-working — cash register, previously the property of a drag queen with scant use for it.

Behind the counter, mixing hot drinks or fiddling with the shop’s stereo system, you find the co-owners, 23-year-old twins Tyler and Vinny Trierweiler, who have a passion for art and are in hot pursuit of bringing together interesting people in a creative setting.

Mayor George Heartwell stands with drag queens Kylee Star, left, and Kaurora A. Fox before the ceremony while Tyler Trierweiler records them for the twins' reality Web show.

“We’re not in it just for the money,” Tyler Trierweiler said Tuesday, the day Mayor George Heartwell came in for the store’s ribbon-cutting ceremony. “We want it to be fun. We want it to be something that’s worth doing.”

When media coverage of their venture started popping up in early September, about a month before the store’s Oct. 1 opening, reporters clung to the peculiar aspect of The Dirty Hippie: its eponymous Web-based reality series.

True, The Dirty Hippie is the base where the Trierweilers predominantly shoot their Web series. The videos are posted on YouTube and the store’s website, dirtyhippievenue.com.

The first webisode was posted Oct. 7 and features scenes of the brothers preparing to open their store spliced with colorful, kaleidoscopic retro animation that acts as a segue between parts. A second episode debuted Wednesday.

A cutout of John Lennon was on hand for last week's ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The video showcases the drama and humor that can go on behind the scenes when brothers combine their life savings to start a unique business in a city increasingly known for its cultural flair.

Their rounds through local media are shown, including a comical instance in which Tyler Trierweiler and friend Alyssa DeWitt find themselves late and locked out of FOX-17’s studios before a scheduled interview.

(Earlier in the video, Tyler stumbles through an impromptu telephone interview with The Press.)

But customers of The Dirty Hippie needn’t worry about being subjected to “Candid Camera” hijinks when they walk in for coffee or, say, a hermit crab, the brothers said.

Instead, they hope the videos act as a chronicle of their business, and their lives within.

“I think, for the most part, people enjoy it,” Tyler Trierweiler said. “I feel like a lot of people could come in and think, ‘OK, where are the cameras?’”

In reality, they only film when something likely will be included in an upcoming “webisode.”
“If it’s just us standing here,” Vinny Trierweiler added, “what’s the point?”

Nicole Olweean sings Tuesday during the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The thrust of The Dirty Hippie, the brothers said, is its ability to act as a catalyst for creativity by offering diverse wares and bringing together a variety of people.

Perhaps nothing illustrates their success in that endeavor more than Heartwell heartily greeting and throwing his arms around the shoulders of two drag queens, Kylee Star and Kaurora A. Fox, at The Dirty Hippie’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.

As Tyler Trierweiler filmed for their series, the drag queens smiled and Heartwell congratulated the brothers on their business.

“Welcome to the Heartside District,” Heartwell later told the Trierweilers. “It’s a great place to start a business.”

Rebekah Hall does homework in the shop Wednesday.

The people behind The Dirty Hippie, in addition to the Trierweilers, belong to the Musicians Cooperative, a group of musicians and artists similar to one the twins started in South Bend, Ind.

The Dirty Hippie was born of talks within the cooperative, with ideas bounced back and forth and expanded until they became reality.

That collaboration, Tyler Trierweiler said, is what probably will remain the brothers’ focus at The Dirty Hippie as its cafe, retail items, shows and, of course, the Web series, evolve.

Its location along the so-called “Avenue of the Arts,” next to galleries and stores that sell vinyl records, is something the Trierweilers hope will make The Dirty Hippie a welcome addition to South Division Avenue.

“We’re going to keep networking with creative people in the community and turn it into something that hasn’t been done before,” Tyler Trierweiler said. “The more than we can have other people be part of it and grow with others, we’re going to keep doing it.”